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COVID Vaccines: XBB Strain Easy Call, But Disagreements Abound Between FDA, Advisors On Logistics

 
• By Sarah Karlin-Smith

It took little convincing for FDA advisors to support changing COVID-19 vaccines to monovalent XBB formulations, but the committee still isn’t sold on the agency’s annual influenza-like campaign strategy for COVID vaccines and raised several harder calls that FDA and CDC will need to make including when to cut off bivalent shots use and who should get XBB.

3D illustration of covid xbb variant
FDA looks likely to recommend XBB 1.5 monovalent COVID vaccines for 2023-2024 • Source: Shutterstock

US Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisors voted unanimously 15 June to recommend COVID-19 vaccines be updated to a monovalent XBB shots for 2023-2024.

The Vaccines and Biological Products Advisory Committee largely suggested the agency go with either the XBB 1

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